rest is something else for us to talk about and rehash. since romney is not budging from his stance that he will not release more than the two years, although i do think it's significant that it's going to come up again when he does finally release that 2011 tax return that so far it's only an estimate. there will be more for us to chew on even if he doesn't release more tax years of his returns. but i think it's just going to be events overtaking this if romney chooses to stand in his position. >> the calculation is approximate we don't release them, eventually it will go away and it's summer, people aren't paying that close of attention anyway? >> yeah. people will get bored of this. it will start to seem repetitive. the attacks will be exhausted, all the speculation. inevitably, something else will happen somewhere else in the world. there will be an e decided on that.

it will be decided on who is going to turn the economy around and how are jobs going to come back to america. >> when you look at the latest . is this something the media is fixated on or could the numbers be significant? >> i don't think democrats are going to let this go until he releases more tax returns and you hear republicans saying that he should -- he should think so that narrative, that democrats have been pushing is getting through on some level. you know, we'll see how that shakes out. but yeah, the economy of course is going to be the biggest issue this year. but i think this narrative could hurt romney in the long-term.

>> let me go back also to that new video. that's the new romney video attacking the president. we showed the clip of it. fair to say, molly, that this line, this narrative that they're using from barack obama is taken out of context? >> well, yes and no. on the substance of romney and obama are saying almost exactly the same thing. even using the same examples, you have romney on the stump yesterday saying, well, yes, we should have roads, we should have bridges, we should have police and firefighters, which is exactly what obama was saying in the sort of longer version of that quote. but it is a difference of emphasis. obama thinks that we're not giving enough credit to the government and to the community that supports the formation of businesses. and romney thinks that we're not giving enough credit to the individual entrepreneur and the business person and not giving that person enough freedom. i think there is a substantive dispute here beyond the inevitable. both sides are being reductive about the other's position. obama to allege that republicans

don't believe there should be any support from government and romney to allege that obama wants to chalk everything up to government's influence. >> we talked a lot about, jackie, the differences in this campaign and whether or not they're giving enough specifics, but in terms of the role of government, these guys couldn't be further apart. >> yeah. that's also democrats and republicans in a lot of ways. i think that's the eternal deba debate. it depends who can convince the margin of swing voters who is going to be better. >> let me bring in bay buchanan. >> i'm good chris. how are you doing? >> i'm well. thank you. let me ask you about this video out from the romney campaign. it attacks the president over his comments last week. but when you listen to the whole speech, the president wasn't explaining that if you have a business, you deliver your goods using roads that government built, if you went to a public school, taxpayer dollars built it, paid your teachers. are the words being used out of

context? >> no, they're not. you know, i considered that. i'll be quite honest and i looked at the whole speech. i think when he said if you have a business, you did not build it, he reemphasizes, the president does, throughout the speech. it's not taken out of context. i think it does give enormous insight into the thinking of this president. there is not the respect that i think is certainly deserved by the hard working men and women in this country who really risk their livelihood, they put a lot on the line. >> do you think that barack obama doesn't respect hard working americans? >> i think there's no question in my mind, he does not respect small business owners, people, entrepreneurs who created -- he has this impression that that's not all yours. you need to give it to us. that's why he's burdened them with so many taxes and wants to add more to that burden. so many regulations. he wants to tell them how to do

it, what they can do and why he's targeting industries and making it virtually impossible for them to survive such as the coal industry. yes, you're absolutely right, chris, i do not believe the president of the united states has the kind of respect for the people in this country who create jobs and that's why we're in the mess we are today. >> the wall street journal is reporting that american crossroads is about to launch $8.8 million ad campaign in nine states starting today to defend president romney -- mitt romney against the president and the attacks that he helped to ship jobs overseas. is that an acknowledgment essentially, that you're worried that the obama attacks are sticking sf. >> this is politics, chris. when you have an incumbent and then a new fella coming into the race, which is mitt romney here, challenging the incumbent. what they try to do in the summer before the general election is to define that person themselves. so barack obama is doing everything he can to define mitt

romney as somebody who he is not. we can't just sit back and say, okay, say what you want about us, we're going to fight back. we're going to make certain the american people know the enormously successful individual mitt romney has been, what a stellar reputation he has, how he understands this private sector and that he's the man that really can turn things around and we're going to also let them know that barack obama, after 3.5 years has shown us he cannot do the job. the situation is getting worse. there's less and less hope for americans as thar looking for jobs and hoping to take care of their families. it's being crushed by the administration's policies. it's got -- we've got to bring somebody else in there. we're not going to let them define who mitt romney is or what mitt romney is going to be. he's going to be a great president of the united states. >> part of the record that has been traditionally looked at by the american people, frankly, are tax returns. there are a lot of republicans, ron paul, governor robert bentley, haley barbour, chuck grassly, rick perry, bill

crystal. i could go on about the conservatives who say mitt romney needs to release more of his tax returns. if, as ann romney said this morning, this is a generous guy, this is a successful guy, why not just do it? why not just move past this, bay? >> you know, i'll tell you why. first of all, governor romney, there's a requirement of the law, you have to have certain disclaimer of your personal wealth and businesses by law. he has done all of that. he has disclosed everything required by law in addition two years. here's the game, chris. hey, you do two years, we need four. you do four, we need six. this is going to be endless and all it does is distract the americans from the key issues in this campaign. that's what obama wants to do is distract us and get the media such as yourself talking about things like romney's tax returns. >> can he make a decision whether it's a distraction or information they find useful. >> they will make that

distinction. they'll decide whether the two years is enough and that the key issue in this country is jobs. who are they going to choose, a person who believes in the private sector, believes in small business or somebody believes the answer is totally in bigger government, more regulatory government, higher taxes, more spending. that's the decision that's going to be made in november, not whether two years is enough or four years is enough with respect to tax returns. >> bay buchanan, adviser to the romney campaign. thank you, bay. there's also the news that the president is going to florida this afternoon with 29 electoral votes. we should always say that. molly, critical swing state, his campaign will be hitting the romney campaign over medicare. huge concern for florida's seniors and for potential swing voters as well. how big will this play, do you think, in the campaign? >> well, florida is a very tough state for the president. seniors have not been particularly hospitable demographic for him, even four

years ago it was the segment of the population that he did worst with. again, we see the president waging a highly localized campaign where romney has a simple, national message. it's all about the economy, period, end of story, don't want to talk about anything else. we see the president talking about different issues, appealing to different groups, attempting to make inroads on the margin to cut in to the share of the vote. >> in fact, jackie, we have indication of the line of attack the president is going to make today. he's going to say mitt romney would end medicare, turn it into a voucher program force seniors on medicare to pay more for prescription drugs, preventative care and repeal president obama's reforms. is this essentially the ryan budget attack that we've seen before and can it be effective? >> that remains to be seen. it has been effective in the past by using the ryan budget to attract more seniors. molly is right. this has been a demographic he

struggled with. he lost them to john mccain in florida fla. you never know what's going to work. it might or they might look at the health care bill and decide that's not something they like and end up going for romney. >> jackie kucinich, molly vaul, great to see you both. bulgarian officials say this is the man responsible for a deadly suicide bombing that killed seven people, including five israeli tourists and dozens more were injured. it's security video showing the suspected bomber who had a fake michigan driver's license. israel blamed iran and but no group has taken credit. benjamin netanyahu says israel will respond forcefully and the u.s. condemned the attack. later this month, mitt romney will visit israel and meet with the prime minister. and two pills. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills. almost done, when... hang on.

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new jersey's combative governor chris christie won't confirm it himself, but sources tell nbc news that he will be the keynote speaker at this year's republican national convention. did i say combative? >> your rear end is going to get thrown in jail, idiot. >> this is the crap i have to hear. this is for real. you know first off, it's hon. of your business. >> if you want to put on a show and giggle every time i talk, i have no interest in answering your question. >> did i say on topic? are you tuned? thank you all very much and i'm sorry for that. >> the speaking slot at the convention almost certainly means he will not be vp but it gives him a high-profile spotlight. what's that like? we'll bring in patrick murphy who spoke at the 2008 convention in denver. >> good to be with you, chris. >> take off your democratic hat for a second. from a purely political point of view, do you think chris christie is a good choice for

the keynote? >> i do. i think he's an authentic person. he tells you how he feels. people are hungry for that. they don't want, frankly, somebody who is robotic, like mitt romney. >> let me get insights from you as somebody who has stood backstage and waited to go out before that huge crowd. you fired up the crowd back in 2008. let me show a little clip from that. >> we had a president who spent billions on private contractors but not enough on body armor for our troops. we had a president who was there for the photo-ops but awol when it came to doing right by our fellow veterans. ladies and gentlemen, it is time for a change. >> how do you prep for something like that? what's chris christie facing? >> well, chris christie is a great public speaker. i mean, he's a guy who gets -- he's been a former prosecutor like myself, he was a u.s. attorney in new jersey. he will craft his speech

himself. we'll get an advanced copy to the romney team. then he'll go out and speak in front -- >> how much do they play with it? obviously, not just the campaign is looking at the keynote but i assume the candidate would too. >> right. you do the first draft, send it to them. they may tweak it, they may not. with my end, it was a five-minute speech and it was pretty clear-cut. i spoke from my heart about my fellow veterans and what i saw needed to be done in going after bin laden and to bring the troops home from iraq which is what president obama has done as commander in chief. for chris christie, it depends on what they want him to do. they probably want him to be an attack dog like they showed in the past week. >> chris christie says officially he doesn't have the invite yet. how did you find out? >> i got a call from david axelrod who asked if i would be interested. i accepted. it was a great honor. my wife and i were there in

denver, colorado, four years ago. >> there have been a lot of memorable clips here and there. let me play one going back to '88. the dnc. classic line from the late ann richards. >> poor george. [ laughter ] he can't help it. he was born with a silver foot in his mouth. >> for keynote, do you think one of the most important things, obviously, you want to fire up the crowd but you're preaching to the converted. do you want to find that little clip that's going to be played over and over and over again and keep your folks out there? >> well, you know, you try to -- every time you present in public, you want to give them a nugget that they're going to

basically keep to themselves and remember that. richards did a great job. she's now looking down on us all. i think chris christie, you know, listen, it's a big task. it's tuesday night. sarah palin is not here invited to the party. i have no doubt he'll come out swinging against president obama. >> a speech from 1988, the networks devoted a lot more prime time hours to covering speeches. it's been reduced significantly. and part of it is that newsreel i doesn't get made. you don't announce the vice presidential candidates. there's all sorts of things that used to happen at conventions that don't anymore. what do you think is the importance of conventions these days? >> i think it's time to rally your base and let them know what the agenda is. what's interesting, chris, is that i do think there could be news in this convention.

we'll see what ron paul does. we'll see if he comes to the table with mitt romney even though they disagree. very tough republican primary fight or whether he's part of the team. philosophically they disagree on a lot of things. i'm not sure if he'll come with his delegates or not. it will be interesting what happens in tampa. >> congressman murphy, good to see you again. thank you so much. >> you too, chris. the supreme court health care battle. what's he saying now about one of his fellow justices? got the jetta. i wiped the floor with the guy! not really. i would've been fine with 0% for 36 months, but i demanded 60. no...i didn't do that. it was like taking candy from a baby. you're a grown man. alright, see you at home. [ male announcer ] the volkswagen autobahn for all event. we good? we're good. [ male announcer ] at 0% apr for 60 months, no one needs to know how easy it was to get your new volkswagen. that's the power of german engineering. ♪ intel bong to get your new volkswagen.

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[ female announcer ] and you've earned a say. get the facts and make your voice heard on medicare and social security at earnedasay.org. to politics now with first lady michelle obama launching a new offensive to energize grassroots supporters. >> that's why i am so proud to be launching a new effort we're calling it takes one. it's as simple as it sounds. every time you take action to move this country forward, we're asking you to inspire one more person to join you as well. don't ever underestimate the impact you can have.

as barack has said all along, it takes one voice to change a room and one room to change a community and one community to change the direction of our nation. >> no tension between supreme court justices scalia and roberts. at least that's what scalia said in an interview last night. >> no, i haven't had a falling out with justice roberts. >> loud words exchanged. >> no. >> slamming of doors. >> no. >> nothing like that? >> nothing like that. >> best buddies? >> my best buddy on the court is ruth bader ginsburg. always has been. >> there are clashes on legal questions. but not personally. the press likes to paint us asinine scorpions in a bottle. that's just not the case. >> here is an unlikely late night pair on some unexpected topics. newt gingrich and snooki talking about bachelor parties and

drinking. >> did you have strippers? >> no. >> did you have strippers? >> no. >> i feel now like in some ways my life has been deprived. >> do you drink, by the way. >> sometimes. >> good for you. >> when is the last time -- >> when is the last time you just got wasted? was there a time -- >> thinking about coming on the show. >> and if you read only one thing this morning, a growing backlash against the ohio dad who is refusing to allow his 4-year-old who just had her last cancer treatment to accept a make a wish trip to disney. read it. let me know if you agree with his reason why. it's up on our facebook page at facebook/jansingco. an accident doesn't have to slow you down.

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natural energy from green coffee extract, ♪ hello...rings ♪ what the... what the... what the... ♪ are you seein' this? ♪ ♪ uh-huh... uh-huh... uh-huh... ♪ ♪ it kinda makes me miss the days when we ♪ ♪ used to rock the microphone ♪ back when our credit score couldn't get us a micro-loan ♪ ♪ so light it up! ♪ even better than we did before ♪ ♪ yeah prep yourself america we're back for more ♪ ♪ our look is slacker chic and our sound is hardcore ♪ ♪ and we're here to drop a rhyme about free-credit-score ♪ ♪ i'm singing free-credit-score-dot-com ♪ ♪ dot-com narrator: offer applies with enrollment in freecreditscore.com. criticism is escalating over accusations by republican congresswoman michele bachmann that a top aide to secretary of

state hillary clinton could be a threat to national security. senator john mccain defended huma abedin on the senate floor yesterday after five republican lawmakers, including congresswoman bachmann charged that abedin is an infiltrator for the muslim brotherhood. >> these allegations about huma abedin and the report from which they are drawn are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable scitizen citizen, a dedicated american and loyal public servant. >> joining me now s.e. cupp and democratic strategist and former press secretary, doug thornell. thank you for being here both of you. congresswoman bachmann said her comments made in letters are being distorted. that this is a national security issue. is it s.e.?

>> i don't know anything about huma abedin's connections to the muslim brotherhood. i haven't spent a single second of my life asking that question. so i'm not going to spec hate on the veracity of the report. what i do know, this is a media story. your banner said mccain versus bachmann. mccain didn't mention michele bachmann on the floor. in fact, she's one of five representatives who sent a letter. but i know that thomas rooney of florida and lynn westmoreland of georgia don't make for as good a story. we're talking about this because of who michele bachmann is. the fact of the matter is, she didn't write this report. she sent a letter asking questions. that's what representatives do. >> she sent a 16-page response. doug, citing a report by the president of the conservative center for the security policy, the lawmakers, including michele bachmann, said that ms. abedin's mother, brother and late father had connections to the muslim brotherhood. what do you make of all this and are we making too much of it? >> well, i don't personally know

huma, but she has a sterling reputation. she's been a loyal patriotic and devoted public servant for a while. i really applaud mr. mccain and also senator lindsey graham for coming to her defense. i think she really represents what is good about public service. and i think, in this instance, michele bachmann and the four other members who signed this letter, kind of reflect what's bad about it. that's kind of wallowing in this swamp of misinformation, internet rumors and pushing it out as if it's true. you know, that's a shame. this is not something that is unusual for michele bachmann. she went on one of your shows three or four years ago and called for an investigation of anti-american behavior by liberal members, liberal democrats in congress. this is what we've expected from her. unfortunately, you know, she likes the spotlight. i would imagine she may not actually be too upset about the coverage here. >> as a matter of fact, we mentioned this bachmann defended her claims in a letter to democratic congressman keith ellison of minnesota. i spoke with him just a short time ago. >> congressman, good morning.

>> good morning. >> michele bachmann says she has sent you evidence about her concerns. what's your reaction to what you got in the mail? >> she has sent me no evidence. she has sent me a 16-page document full of allegations, rehashed, regurgitated. just stuff from anti-muslim websites. but she's sent me no evidence. she sent me another follow-up letter, no evidence contained there either. but if she has some, i do hope she's forthcoming with it. i hope she does not try to broadcast it for any kind of a political advantage, but gives it to the proper authorities if it is meritorious. but otherwise, i wish she would just stop this mccarthy is tick witch hunt. >> she got your letter and issued a statement yesterday. i want to read part of it. the letters my colleagues and i sent on june 13 and the follow-up letter i wrote to represent ellison on july 13, are unfortunately being distorted. the intention of the letters was

to outline the serious national concerns i had and ask for answers regarding the muslim brotherhood and other radical group's access to top obama administration officials. so are the letters being distorted? >> no. her letters are being accurately interpreted and if you look at the response of ed rollins and if you look at the statement by senator mccain, it is clear that all sides of the political spectrum, she's being actually well understood and she's trying to claim being distorted so she can not face the consequences of what she did. but the fact is, no, she's being well-understood. her most recent letter to me she seemed to have dropped the huma abedin issue. she's dropped that issue and is on to something else. she's sort of like groping at this point. >> one of the things she said in this letter is she's concerned about the dangerous national security situation and i will

not be silent she wrote as this administration appeases our enemies. but you obviously think this is purely political. what do you think about the timing of it? >> well, you know, here's what i think about it. i think that if you are a member of the permanent select committee on intelligence, which she is, if you're a lawyer, which she is, then if you have what you believe is real information that poses a threat to the nation, you should give it to the proper authorities and she can get a classified briefing, she does not have to go public trying to tear down the reputation of good people like huma abedin, mohammed madge i and others. the fact is, she's gone public because she -- that is her goal. to get attention for her position, not to really go out after seeking out the national security angle. because, of course, she could do that if that was her real goal. >> this is a woman who ran for

president. she's someone who served with you on the financial services and oversight investigations committee. >> right. >> have you always had a good working relationship with her? what do you think this is about? >> yeah. i know michele well. i like her. she and i served in the state legislature in minnesota together. i have no personal difficulties with her. i think she's personally charming person. i think what she did is so beyond the pale that she must apologize. i'm not the only one who thinks so. as i said, ed rollins and senator mccain and a whole host of other people. we went through the mccarthy era. it was a bad time for our country. we learned something. i hope that she learns what the rest of us learned, which is that unsupported allegations of disloyalty are out of line. >> congressman keith ellison, good to have you on the program. thank you so much for making the time. >> thank you. s.e., to his point, if she has serious national security

concerns, can't you go about it in a less public way? she and the other members of congress. there are ways to approach this if you have real evidence, if you believe that there is some substantive reason to believe this. >> they didn't go on the tonight show. they sent letters to various security agencies. if i'm not mistaken, most of us would not have known this story had john mccain not taken to the floor and broadcasted the story out. you know, you can say that michele bachmann likes attention. so does john mccain. i mean, this is not the first time he's been accused of grandstanding. look, i am not going to take to smearing huma abedin or michele bachmann. i don't know about the validity of the report. it's not my job and i'm not going to speculate. but i do know that there is a media angle to this story that i think is blurring some lines here. >> actually, if i could jump in here. >> sure. >> i think that the media angle, i mean, s.e. is pointing to michele bachmann being singled

out here. you know, i think that there's something to the fact that they singled out huma here. everyone knows she's a trusted aide to senator clinton and her husband was in the news a year ago. i wouldn't put it past them that they did this for media attention. i think that's a shame. there's nothing to these reports and anyone who knows how hard she's worked for not only senator clinton but for the state department, knows this is total nonsense. >> doug is completely right that huma is also a part of this media story, as is hillary clinton. if this was thomas rooney of florida investigating a random aide, this would not be the story. >> he's not saying it's just about the media. you're missing the point, s.e. that there's a reason perhaps why she was singled out by people who want to bring attention to what they believe is a legitimate issue and the timing also could be considered a little suspect. huma abedin and her husband coming out in people magazine, they're back in the news. >> right.

that's what i'm saying. she's part of the media story. >> but is it coincidental that they -- >> i don't know the motives of michele bachmann and thomas rooney and others. >> we're both american and if you have family that's muslim american, does that make you suspect? >>. >> of course not. when he testified and had hearings about muslim americans in this country and potential ties to islamic extreme itchism. it's a tricky subject. people always accuse you when you want to ask tough questions of being racist or a bigot. it's part of the territory. i don't know what's in this report. but i don't think that asking questions about a high level aide and national security implications makes you a terrible person. >> but i do think that there's some assumption in parts of the republican party that, if you're a muslim american, then you are

a threat to this country. i think that is very dangerous. >> i think that assumption is very dangerous. i think that's not fair. >> well, i think that that's part of what peter king's hearings were about. you know, look, i think that this clearly was, i think, to grab attention. michele bachmann is very good at that. >> doug thornell, s.e. cupp, thank you very much. be sure to watch the cycle weekdays at 3:00 eastern on msnbc. government forces syria are launching new attacks on neighborhoods in and around damascus. the strikes come 24 hours after a rebel bomb attack in the heart of the regime killed president bashar assad's defense minister and deputy defense minister. meantime, the u.n. security council scheduled a vote this hour on a new syria resolution. just like western nations and russia remaining deeply divided. the resolution threatens nonmilitary sanctions against

assad's government if he doesn't withdraw weapons in populated areas in ten days. trayvon martin murder suspect george zimmerman apologized to martin's family, his own relatives and the american public. but it was this comment that caused the most discussion. >> i feel that it was all god's plan and for me to second-guess it or judge it -- >> is there anything you might do differently in retrospect now that time has passed a little bit? >> no, sir. >> zimmerman also said he wished he hadn't been forced to take martin's life. martin's family responded about god's plan this morning on "today." >> i really think that's ridiculous. i wish trayvon was here to tell his side of the story. i don't believe that's god's plan for him to kill an innocent teenager. >> the family's attorney will be thomas roberts guest coming up here on msnbc. back to school shopping

surge. bertha coombs is here with what's moving your money. good news for retailers. >> yeah. bank of mom and dad going to be a little more generous this fall for grade school kids. spending is expected to be up 14%. parents will spend about $688 on average. 60% of them will buy an electronic device. if you're going to college, good news there too. parents expect to spend about $900. spending there up about 12%. united airlines under investigation by the transportation department after, i guess they said, a computer glitch allowed customers to buy tickets to hong kong for virtually nothing. what happened? >> yeah. there was a little computer glitch they discovered on sunday night that allowed people to essentially book a flight to hong kong for four frequent flyer miles and $33. they run about 140,000 frequent flyer miles. i reached out to the airline and they said look, we're honoring anybody who already booked it and the return flight. we're going to honor that. >> they're honoring it? >> the others, they said, when you looked on the screen, the actual number was there the

whole time. we didn't actually book them for the four frequent flyer miles. now it's going to be up to the dot. because under the new rules, airlines can't really change the cost of the flight afterwards. haven't heard back from the d.o.t. on what kind of decisions on that. there's some folks who actually got to book them that are really fighting this. come on. $33 to hong kong? >> not bad. cnbc's bertha coombs, good to see you, thanks. from the mountains to the prairies, the best of the road contest sent teams across the country to find the best small towns in mesh. the most beautiful, bards town, kentucky known for distilleries. most patriotic, gainesville, texas. murray, kentucky has the friendliest folks. but the most fun, delray beach, florida. is it done? [ john ] no.

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we're going to show you live pictures of the united nations where the russia and china just vetoed a western backed u.n. resolution threatening sanctions against syria. we'll keep our eye on that situation. back to politics here. the romney campaign raising money off all the hype surrounding the picking of a running mate. a new campaign e-mail says the choice will be coming soon and one supporter will get the chance to meet the duo at a future event. now, on the stump in the battleground state of ohio, romney confirmed no decisions have been made. >> i can assure you that, even though i have not chosen the person who will be my vice president, that person will be a conservative, they will believe in conservative principles. >> i'm joined by washington post reporter aaron blake who has written extensively on this. good morning. >> good morning. >> you've been following the ins and outs of this process. let's talk about the top four on his short list. any surprises, do you think?

>> well, i have one surprise on there. i think the conventional wisdom right now settled around tim pawlenty and rob portman definitely being part of that short list. some reports put bobby jindal, the governor of louisiana on this. the fourth name on there is senator john thune from south dakota who people aren't really talking about a lot. as often happens in the veep stakes, the person who winds up getting picked is not necessarily somebody we're talking about a whole lot. >> let's start with somebody we've talked about a lot, tim pawlenty, former minnesota governor was asked to respond to criticisms that he's kind of boring. take a look. >> if you goed me into it, i'll show you my tats. we have a lot people who are entertaining, who can light their hair on fire, do whatever. but the bottom line is, these are serious times, need seasoned experienced people to get the job done. >> substance over flash and i wonder if that isn't the most

likely route for the romney campaign. >> i think that makes a lot of sense for them. if there's one thing out of the romney campaign we've seen, especially in recent weeks, they don't overreact to the stories of the day and what the political pundits are necessarily saying about their campaign. i think in the end, what these four names that i mentioned have in common is that they're all seen as relatively safe picks. they're very serious politicians. they've been in office for a while. they're people that i think the romney campaign would have faith in to go on the stump and really be a good surrogate for the campaign. >> yeah. we should also say tim pawlenty later said he doesn't have any tats. just to keep the record straight. bobby jindal, talk about him. what are his chances do you think, realistically? >> i think he's got a pretty good chance here. i think arguably more than the other guys, he's really good on paper. he's the one good on-paper candidate in this group of four. he took over the state health department at the age of 25.

he's barely past 40 and already a two-term governor and former congressman. this is a guy who republicans really drool over along with a guy like paul ryan. young guys who are seen as really serious and really smart and could really bring something to the ticket if they can put it together and really be a national candidate. >> aaron blake, good to see you on the program. thank you. >> thank you. the tweet of the day comes from blogger paul solomon. mitt romney will be carefully reviewing the tax documents of his vp nominee because the last thing he wants is someone hiding something. [ man ] ever year, sophia and i use the points we earn with our citi thankyou card for a relaxing vacation. ♪ sometimes, we go for a ride in the park. maybe do a little sightseeing. or, get some fresh air. but this summer, we used our thank youpoints to just hang out with a few friends in london.

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just about a week until the 2012 summer olympic games. this morning, the u.s. women's gymnastics team arrived in london. they're also featured on the cover of sports illustrated olympic preview issue first time for a gymnast since mary lou

rhett ton in 1984. there she is in the middle. gabby douglas. someone months ago almost gave up her olympic dream. >> you could see it even then. that infectious grin. >> i've always been a happy kid. i love to smile and everyone tells me, you should show us your smile. i took it and ever since then, i can't stop smiling. >> that is, until she puts on her game face. then this effervescent 4'11" dynamo shows her grace and gift. gabby to most of us, fans call her the flying squirrel. >> what a fighter. >> kind of a childish nickname but one that reminds us that this precise, driven, world-class athlete is still just 16. though almost no one knew, right at the moment all her hard work was about to pay off, gabby douglas acted her age and nearly walked away. >> it was pretty drastic when

she wanted to quit. she really, really sounded very serious about it. >> it came that close. >> you can learn more about gabby douglas' journey to the london games tonight, rock center, at 10:00, 9:00 central on nbc. the olympics kick off with the opening ceremony next friday on the networks of nbc universal. of course, including right here on msnbc. that wraps up this hour of jansing & co. i'm chris jansing. thomas roberts is up next. thomas? >> am i giving anything away if i say you're going to the olympics. >> i leave tomorrow. ciao, baby. >> thanks, chris. good morning everybody. the agenda next hour. the president takes a hit in a new poll on how americans feel about his economy. but mitt romney doesn't fare much better as the attacks on his bain business record and refusal to release tax returns intensifies. the rnc and dnc communications

directors will join me this hour. plus george zimmerman speaking out saying that he wouldn't change anything about the night trayvon martin died and that it was part of god's plan. an attorney from the martin family will have reaction to that. is president bashar assad about to lose power this syria? the latest on the upheaval there and whether the embattled dictator fled the country. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis,

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can help do the switching and paperwork for you. well, it probably costs a lot. [ dennis' voice ] allstate can save you up to 30% more when you bundle. well, his dog's stupid. [ dennis' voice ] poodles are one of the world's smartest breeds. ♪ bundle and save with an allstate agent. are you in good hands? hi everybody. i'm thomas roberts. topping the agenda today, it's the economy. there are new warning signs today for team obama. at this hour, the president about to leave the nation's capitol for the battleground state of florida where he plans to hammer mitt romney on medicare. his trip coming as new poll numbers show the president's approval on the economy taking a dive. "the new york times" cbs news poll showing the president with 39% approval on the economy. that's a 5-point drop. this as the romney team continues to focus on the president's comments about job creators in small business. not building their success on their own and the rnc seizing on

reports that the president's job council has been mia. here's the romney rnc campaign ad. the one-two punch. >> you didn't build that. somebody else made that happen. >> my father's hands didn't build this company? my hands didn't build this company? my son's hands aren't building this company? did somebody else take out the loan on my father's house to finance the equipment? >> no there was no specific reason except the president has a lot on his plate. topping off this battle over business x, weekly job numbers out show jobless claims rising 34,000 to 386,000. joining me now is tim miller, deputy communications director for the republican national committee. tim, it's nice to see you this morning. >> tom, great to be with you. >> republicans are jumping on

team romney's strategy highlighting the small business comments. to be clear, the president actually said that businesses don't get there alone, that they need help. it's not in a vacuum that they operate. today we have these new reports from the l.a. times and the chicago trib saying that bain capital and mitt romney at the helm got help raising a third of its initial investment funds from wealthy foreigners most of the money through corporations registered in panama. some of the most secretive of business laws exist there in panama. does that story prove the president's points, that business leaders don't come by successful initiatives on their own? >> well, i think certainly not, tom. i think the recent polls you've cited have shown that the president's false attacks on mitt romney aren't working right now and the people care about the economy. i want to turn to your point about the context of the president's you didn't build that remark. there was a good article by phil klein this morning saying that the contextually made that comment worse. if you look at the whole speech and what he's arguing, it's that